The Covington City Council has once again summoned the company, this time to its Sept. 8 council meeting to discuss a failure to maintain an adequate supply of Jet A fuel.

"They were given an opportunity, were told to straighten these things out, that we don't want any more problems. We want fuel out there. The paving is done, the weather is great, no more excuses. I feel they dropped the ball," Dalton said Wednesday evening.

He didn't know if the council would vote on early termination, an action which has been considered in past months, but said it would probably once again be part of the discussion.

A lack of fuel was first reported by City Manager Steve Horton at the city's Tuesday strategic planning session, when he informed the council that one of the airport's largest customers couldn't get enough fuel. Under the city's contract with Dixie Jet, the company is required to provide adequate fuel.
Dixie Jet Manager Rusty Anglin said Wednesday evening that the company had Jet A fuel available at the time, but wasn't sure if it had enough to supply a large order, because it had sold a lot of fuel just previously. He said other smaller customers were still able to buy Jet A fuel.

At Tuesday's meeting, Horton said the fuel was supposed to be delivered by 7:30 a.m., and if the company hadn't purchased it by mid-day, the city would buy the fuel directly. According to Anglin, the driver was delayed, which is not an uncommon occurrence, he said, and the fuel was delivered by 2:30 p.m. City Airport Engineer Vincent Passariello independently said the same thing.

Anglin said the hiccup was the first one the company has had since both fuel tanks, AvGas and Jet A fuel, were fully up and operational as of June or July.

At an unrelated work session Wednesday at noon, council members Ocie Franklin and Chris Smith also agreed they wanted to discuss the issue at the next council meeting. The meeting is being held on the 8th at 6:30 p.m., because Sept. 6 is Labor Day.